TSX Closes Lower For 3rd Straight Day

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended notably lower on Tuesday, extending losses to a third straight session, as crude oil's steep slide amid concerns about energy demand due to rising coronavirus cases, and the widespread selling on Wall Street rendered the mood bearish.

Investors were also looking ahead to Bank of Canada's policy announcement, due on Wednesday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 118.49 points or 0.73% at 16,099.52, after hitting a low of 15,956.04 in early trades.

The index lost 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively in the final two sessions last week.

The Capped Energy Index crashed as much as 7.59% as several key stocks in the section plunged sharply.

MEG Energy (MEG.TO) and Vermilion Energy (VET.TO) slid nearly 12% and 11%, respectively. PrairieSky Royalty (PSK.TO), Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Husky Energy (HSE.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) and Parex Resources (PXT.TO) lost 5 to 10%.

Information technology and healthcare stocks were among the other prominent losers. The Capped Information Technology eased by 1.6%, while the Healthcare Index declined 1.34%.

In the technology space, Docebo Inc. (DCBO.TO) ended nearly 8% down. Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) declined 5.8% and Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO) ended lower by 4.4%. Absolute Softwar Corp (ABT.TO), Enghouse Systems (ENGH.TO), Lightspeed Pos (LSPD.TO), Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO) and BlackBerry (BB.TO) lost 2 to 4%.

Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO), down 10.8%, was the biggest loser in the Healthcare Index. Canopy Growth Corp (WEED.TO), Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN.TO), Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) and Cronos Group (CRON.TO) lost 1 to 2.3%.

Laurentian Bank (LB.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), National Bank of Canada (NA.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) and CDN Western Bank (CWB.TO) were among the notable losers in the financial space.

Among materials shares, First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO), Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO), Iamgold Corp (IMG.TO) and Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) declined sharply.

Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Yamana Gold (YRI.TO), Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO), Torex Gold Resources (TXG.TO), Kirkland Lake Gold (KL.TO) and Novagold (NG.TO) moved up 1.4 to 2.3%.

Financial and consumer discretionary shares too exhibited weakness, while shares from the Utilities space moved up. Materials, real estate, telecom and industrials shares turned in a mixed performance.

U.S. stocks tumbled as traders continued to cash in on recent strength. The Dow slid 2.3%, the Nasdaq plunged 4.1% and the S&P 500 slumped 2.8%.

The major European markets ended notably lower, while markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended down $3.01 or about 7.6% at $36.76 a barrel after hitting a low of $36.13 in the session.

Gold futures for December ended up $8.90 or about 0.5% at $1,943.20 an ounce, the highest settlement since last Wednesday. Gold prices fell to a low of $1,911.70 an ounce by mid-morning after opening on a weak note.

Silver futures for December closed higher by $0.279 at $26.991 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $3.0250 per pound, down $0.0370 from previous close.